Dreams
by Raima
Summary: When everything you once took for granted is gone, all that's left are your dreams.
1. Prologue: Zero

**Prologue: Zero**

I dream. I dream of what could have been. I dream of the infinite possibilities that might've been mine. I dream of strength and power, respect and wide-eyed longing.

I dream of the world that lies inside my heart. The world that was once mine.

—

You see his eyes open. You remember the past, back when those eyes were full of vitality and hope for the future. The contrast is amazing. The deep longing and sadness that now lies within them shatters your heart. You begin to cry. He turns towards you and musters up a weak smile.

"Don't cry, love," he says. "Don't cry for me." His entire torso turns in your direction, and your sobbing increases.

"None of this matters if you're still here with me," he says quietly.

Yet you still cry, for his arms still hang limply at his sides.

You always thought that your life would have a happy ending. When you think back, when you remember how life used to be, you still believe that. Yet when you turn your eyes back to the present, your future seems bleak once again.

—

When I see her cry, I try to comfort her, but she cannot be comforted. So, instead, I dream again. I fall back into the lives we should've had.


	2. Dream One: Meetings Part 1

**Dream One: Meetings [Part 1]**

A young boy fidgets nervously in a large crowd of children. His pale, shaggy brown hair flops mercilessly in front of his eyes, so that he has a constant wrinkle of concentration marring his forehead. His eyes, when you can see them, are a muddy brown with rare specks of shining green deep within. He looks pathetically nervous. In fact, he looks more nervous than the rest of the children combined.

The crowd around him chatters amicably, talking of their hometowns, bragging about their families. The boy cannot do such a thing. He shrinks back, avoiding all looks that seems to head his way.

Suddenly, the crowd quiets down. A gruff, rugged looking man has stepped into the mass of bumbling children. He towers above them, easily surpassing their measly four feet or so of height. A large, shining blade adorns his back.

"Well, look here, an _obedient _little class, huh?" He practically yells. "If you're here, that means you're trying to become a Cygnus Knight: a warrior who fights for our mighty empress. I bet you've all come here with high hopes!" His mouth splits into a ridiculously happy grin. "Well, I'm sorry to say that only ten people out of _all _of you will manage to make it!"

The crowd erupts into noisy complaints and worries. Children who had just been happily chatting now turn and glare at each other.

"In any case, I'm one of the head Dawn Warriors here in Ereve. You can call me…" He pauses for dramatic effect. "BANHAMMER!" A cocky grin is quickly shot towards the children.

"Banhammer? Really?" the boy says clearly. His eyes widen in horror and he quickly claps his hands over his mouth as he realizes what he just said.

"…Who was that?" Banhammer asks. Every child around the boy edges carefully away from him.

"So, the little shy guy has some spunk, eh?" Banhammer grins. Suddenly, his face turns deathly serious. "For your information, my real name is Eric, but you may as well call me Banhammer, _especially _after shooting your mouth off that quickly. Something like that could get you killed in an espionage mission." He glares down at the boy.

"…Yes sir?" he replies timidly.

"GOOD!" Banhammer roars, once again splitting into a broad grin. "Kids with spirit, like you, should become Dawn Warriors, eh?" He nudges the boy with a massive elbow. "What's your name?"

The boy straightens up a little bit, and his hair falls away from his face, showing eyes burning with a deep passion. He looks nothing like the boy who was standing there just seconds previously.

"My name…is Leo."

The crowd is stunned by Leo's clear, enunciated statement. Previous ideas about him have all but disappeared. Even Banhammer looks startles by Leo's 180-degree change in personality. Unlike the children, however, Banhammer knows how to shake off his surprise. He does it so quickly that only the most brilliant of observers would notice the brief flash of his astounded face.

"Leo, eh? Well, I'll probably remember _that_ name. But for now, kids, we're off to meet the Wizard…the wonderful wizard of Oz!"

He is greeted by about five hundred utterly confused stares.

"I mean…we're off to go see the Empress and Shinsoo!" Mentally hitting himself in the head for making such a horrible reference, Banhammer troops away, the large crowd of confused children following in his wake. Leo trudges along in the back, his look of typical concentration morphed into some kind of insistent frown. He keeps his head down, glaring at the fresh grass that covers Ereve as if it had done some kind of irreversible personal harm to him.

"Hey," someone says behind Leo. A look of intense fright covers Leo's face. One can perceive exactly what he is thinking: Is Banhammer back for more?

But after his initial shock, Leo realized that the voice he heard sounds nothing like the gruff roar Banhammer had addressed the kids with. He turns around to see a stereotypically handsome Asian boy.

"Hi!" Leo chirps, undoubtedly relived that this boy is most definitely _not _Banhammer.

"Whoa, thank god! You finally responded! For a second there I thought you were just gonna ignore me!" The Asian boy grins. It is a subtle grin, tinged with innocence and naivety. Leo, whose first thought had been that this kid would be a cold, cruel, living Night Walker stereotype, took back his original hasty opinion. No matter how stereotypical this guy looked, no one with a smile like that would turn into a maniacal kind of Night Walker.

"You aren't gonna become a Night Walker, are you?" Leo says without thinking. _Crap! _He thinks, the closest a child of only eight years can get to swearing. _I _really _gotta get rid of this bad habit!_

"No, I'm not," the Asian boy says in a puzzled voice. "How'd you guess?"

Leo blushes and stutters, not wanting the boy to think that he's some kind of stereotyping ass (when he thinks back to this later, he wonders why he cared if some random guy thought he was an ass or not.)

The boy suddenly grins. "You know what?" he announces. "I like you. At first I just thought you were some snarky little rich boy, but you actually seem kinda cool!" He sticks out a hand. "I'm Akira, and no I'm not going to become a Night Walker, because Blaze Wizards are about 100 times cooler!"

Leo takes his hand and shakes it. "I'm Leo, and I have no idea about what I'm going to be."

Without realizing it, the group had reached the Empress' resting place. Leo stopped in his tracks, stunned. It was not because of the Empress' beauty (although he would never say she wasn't beautiful, because she most definitely was.) It was because of Shinsoo, the beautiful dragon-bird that the Empress clung to. To him, Shinsoo was the most amazing thing he had ever seen. He stood wide-eyed, unable to move. But Akira ran straight towards Shinsoo.

"HIIIII!" Akira practically squeals. "Shinsoo! I haven't seen you in YEARS!"

Leo was, once again, stunned.

"Akira…" He mumbled quietly. "Do you…like…know Shinsoo?"

"Of course!" Akira replies. "After all, my parents are both Cygnus Knights."

At that exact moment, Leo decided that Akira would most definitely be one of his best friends. Anyone who had some kind of relationship with Shinsoo had a good rap in his book.

Banhammer lumbered back over to the crowd of children. He had an unhappy look on his face, like a petulant child who had just been scolded for eating all the ice cream.

"Well," he mumbled. "The Empress says that she wants to personally talk to you guys."

The crowd nervously crept closer and closer to Shinsoo and the Empress. Akira, who was still perched precariously on Shinsoo's back, hopped off and ran excitedly towards Leo …

Who was frantically hyperventilating.

"Leo?" Akira whispered, every inch the devoted friend. "What the heck is wrong with you?"

Leo's hands shot out and grabbed Akira's slime-green shirt, shaking him back and forth like a madman. "The EMPRESS!" he hissed. "The EMPRESS is going to talk to us! The freaking RULER of our WORLD!"

Akira placed a comforting hand on Leo's shoulder, despite the extreme difficulty in doing so. "Leo," he managed to gasp between shakes. "It'll…be fine…just…STOP SHAKING ME!"

"…Oh. Sorry."

"Ok Leo, first of all, the Empress is practically the nicest, sweetest person you will ever meet. Look at Shinsoo. Do you think he would honestly protect some arrogant bratty queen?"

"Well…no, I guess."

"And secondly, the ONLY scary person in Ereve is Oz, the leader of the Blaze Wizards." Akira shuddered in fear. "She is seriously messed up. You do not wanna get on the wrong side of her."

"Then why are you going to be a Blaze Wizard?" Leo asked, genuinely curious.

Akira's face suddenly turned a flaming red. "Well…uh…cause…y'know…_**TOTALLY HATE HER!**_" He raised his hands triumphantly into the air, but ruined it when he quickly looked around, presumably to look for Oz.

Leo smirked. "Yeah. Totally. I toooootally believe you."

"Shut up…" Akira murmured, and covered his face with his hands.

—

After a bit of a wait, the Empress finally stood up. Shinsoo's deep, wise eyes watched her move, seemingly making sure that nothing, in this world or the next, would touch her.

"Hello, all of my new warriors," the Empress smiled, a smile that seemed to infuse the area around her with an air of pure beauty and joy. All around him, Leo could hear murmurs of the Empress' prowess and magnificence. He distinctly heard someone say that he wished she was his mom.

"So, I had a…short…discussion with my dear Eric, and he informed me that he had 'played a little joke' on you young one." She paused for a second to send a menacing glare at Banhammer, who winced and elected to sit on the ground for a bit so he wouldn't stand out so much. "Eric has informed me that he said only ten out of you five hundred would become Cygnus Knights. Well, I'm here to tell you that that is—"

", Empress," Banhammer quickly interrupted.

"…Indeed," the Empress stated coldly. "I suppose I will forgive you…just this once.

These new recruits are the most important people in the world, Eric. They are our future,

and if you ruin that, we may as well completely surrender to the Black Mage!"

"Are the rumors true, Empress?" Banhammer murmured. "Is it true that—"

"Shush," the Empress whispered, and stared off for a bit, head stuck in the horrible news that had come up on her only days before. Shinsoo gently nudged her with his head.

"Ah yes! I am very sorry about that…here. There is an official Noblesse medal for each and every one of you in this box. As Noblesse, you will work hard in order to try to become true Cygnus Knights…even if you still become a mere Knight in Training." Once again, she stared off into the distance. Leo couldn't help but wonder what was making the Empress so worried. After all, the Cygnus Knights were so strong…nothing could defeat them, right?

"I think Banhammer _really _put the Empress in a bad mood." Akira whispered.

Leo vehemently agreed.

—

"You know…this seems like a kind of lame medal…" Akira grumbled. "It's plain and there isn't really any cool stuff on it." He stroked his medal for a bit, and came upon a startling revelation. "I think it's made of freakin' PLASTIC!" Disgusted, Akira threw his body down onto the ground.

All of a sudden, someone's hands clapped over Akira's eyes.

"Guess whooooo, my cute little nooblet!" Someone sang joyfully. Leo had the interesting privilege of seeing someone's whole body blush.

"Well…" Leo said to himself. "Based on Akira's reactions…this is Oz."

Oz (if that was who she is) looked up suddenly. "And how'd you guess?" She teasingly asked Leo.

"I don't know…maybe because Akira—"

"**GAH! **Shut up Leo!" With a great deal of effort, Akira managed to struggle out of Oz's tight grip.

"Why are you here Oz?" Akira asked, nervously darting his eyes back and forth between Oz and Shinsoo, as if debating whether or not to stay and talk. "Shouldn't you be…fighting with Eckhart or something?"

"Aw, poor babyyy!" Oz cooed. "Are you nervous when you talk to me? Are you nervous about me being here?" A wide grin spreading across her face, Oz extended a pale hand to ruffle Akira's hair. Leo couldn't help but realize how much more subdued and shy Akira was when Oz was around. Akira was making a complete change in personality. It was kind of cute, actually. His smile grew, then faded, as he realized he had no one to think about like that.

What I really want, Leo thinks, is someone who makes all the bad thoughts disappear, who brightens my days and brings color into my life. Someone I don't hide in front of, someone who I can be with and be both nervous and completely calm at the same time. I wish…I wish…I wish.

"Leooooooo. You there? Snap out of it, man!"

"Wha…Akira? Nah, I was just thinking about you and _Oz_."

"SHUT UPPP!"

—

_Swing. Stab. Dodge. Bash. Parry. Jump._

_Swing. Swing. _

"BAM! Annnnd victory is mine!" Akira yelled, a youthful blush on his cheeks. "Here's what that flying guy person said we needed to find. One more feather to go! How many do you need, Leo?"

_Swing. Parry. Stabstabstabstabstab_. _Slice and done_.

"…Whoa."

Snapping out of his battle-induced haze, Leo finally answered Akira's question.

"With this feather, I'm done." A cheeky grin gracing his normally serene features, he hung his acquired feathers in front of Akira's eyes. "You jealous of me?"

"Hell no! Did you see yourself? You were all like BAMSWISHDIEEEE right in that guy's face! Like…two inches away! You are sooo going to be a close combat guy aren't you?"

"Uh…maybe? Are you saying I'm…good at close combat?"

"Uh…_duh_."

"Th-thanks. So are you."

"Um no I'm not! I'm going to be a _wizard_! What kind of wizard needs close combat? I'll be slicing them and dicing them from a comfortable 50 feet away! And you'll be up close doing the dirty work for me!"

"You wish that would happen, don't you?" Swatting the back of Akira's head, Leo grinned at him fondly. "I'm going to go drop these off. Don't take too long, okay?"

"As soon as we get to Level 10, I will never be behind you again!"

"If you say so!" Grinning a bit ruefully, Leo ran off. Why was he so close to Akira already? He hadn't even known him for a day yet! Akira was just so open. Getting close to him wasn't exactly hard.

And Akira had said that he was _good_.

No one had ever told him that before. Well, people had, but never in that sincere, cheerful way Akira did. It was always just good job, nice work, now move on.

It was pretty cool, Leo thought, to have a friend.

—

Running was exhilarating right now. Adrenaline was coursing through his body, his mind in euphoria. Leveling up had felt amazing.

When he had turned in his feathers, he had immediately been rewarded with a whole stash of experience—enough to gain a level. Sure, it didn't mean that he was now the strongest guy ever or anything. But it had been the first time he had leveled up. Experience might feel good, but that final push over the edge—that was heaven. Even if this medal was plastic, it still gave him the capacity to level up, and that was something Leo never wanted to give back.

So he ran, face flushed with excitement. He ran back towards the training grounds, ready to get yet another well deserved, wonderful level.

He was so excited that he didn't notice the girl right in front of him.

He crashed into her with all the power that his small body could muster up

"Oh my god. Are you okay?"

This was the most embarrassing thing yet.

He had crashed right into her unsuspecting figure, yet _he _was the one sprawled on the ground.

Blushing furiously, Leo pushed himself back up.

"Um…yeah. I'm fine. Sorry about that. It was just, I got my first level, and y'know, it was amazing so I wasn't looking at anything so like…m'sorry."

The girl laughed quietly. "It's cool, kid."

Leo's crimson red face snapped up. He was _not_ a kid. He wasn't even small for his age! Who was she to be judging him?

But as soon as he saw her, he understood why.

She was only a few years older than him, five at the most. But her demeanor was completely different. She exuded confidence, body stance speaking of mortal danger. Even if she had been the same age as he was, she still wouldn't be a kid: no kid is that experienced. A simple, yet deadly crossbow was strapped into a halter on her back—a Maple Crow.

Most of all, she was way too beautiful to be a kid, or a girl. She was most definitely a woman.

…Well okay. Maybe not _definitely_.

But still, she was beautiful.

"…Yeah. Sorry. I'll be more careful next time I level up. Don't want to always be running into people."

"You do that, kid."

The crossbow woman walked away, black tresses floating in the wind.

_She was so beautiful._

—

**So here we go, the first real chapter of a fic that I've had planned for a while—my first foray into multi-chaptered fic in the Maple fandom! :P I really hoped that you guys enjoyed it and that you like the characters :) Send me some criticism, guys: did I drag it on too much, were the characters too flat, did I spend too much time in Leo's head? I want this story to be actually good. **


	3. Awakening One: Her

**Awakening One: Her**

I wake up.

She is sitting beside my bed, arm supporting her head. Fast asleep.

Once again, her nightly vigil.

She is all grown up now, as am I. We are nothing like the people we used to be. I am no longer the overly-enthusiastic young boy; she is no longer the idealistic young woman. We have changed, grown up in every way.

Except for the way we feel about each other. No, that's not true.

Except for the way I feel about _her._

I doubt that her feelings are the same as they once were. Once, we had each other's backs. Now, she is the one protecting me.

She protects me from harm, protects me from illness. But in doing so, she also protects me from her, building up a wall in between what was once us. Brick by brick. One brick a day, or was it one brick a week, a month, a year?

It doesn't matter. The quantity doesn't matter, and neither does the quality. It could be one shoddy, tiny, piece of rubble and it would still make everything different, would still signify an ever-growing rift between us.

If I was still who I once was, I would reach out to her right now. I would push back the strand of black hair hanging in front of her face. The movement would wake her up, and she would slowly open up her eyes and see me. She would smile, laugh, swat at my arms.

I would gently stroke her cheek, entwine my fingers in hers. Hold her steadily against me.

The natural comfort of an embrace.

Once upon a time, I held her in my arms and everything was as it should be.

She is still sleeping.

She is still beautiful.

But I am no longer who I was before.

I fall back into my dreams.

—

**Okay, the awakenings are what I'm worried about. I want a kind of specific tone for these little introspective bits, and I don't think I'm hitting that mark. **

**Also I feel like I'm being kind of let down-ish since the awakenings are so short, but they take me so long to write. Ugh. Sorry, guys. I probably need a _lot_ more practice writing these.**

**Don't forget to review and give me some criticism on this. Cause it's definitely not perfect D:**


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